Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139844414118669/episodes/2912051595553567141
The carriage wheels clattered as the vehicle moved slowly along the highway.
The wooden floor creaked in time with the swaying carriage. It was a simple transport wagon, apparently converted from a cargo cart. Although it had a roof, the sides were only partially enclosed, so the scenery outside came into view unobstructed. …It was a world of difference from the carriages owned by the ducal family.
The royal capital of Astrea was already far behind them.
Low hills and sparse groves stretched out along the highway, and in the distance, a forest covered in deep green could be seen. It seemed their destination, the labyrinth, lay deep within that forest.
(…Still…)
I shifted my gaze to Rio, who was sitting across
She was perched in the corner of the cargo area, head bowed, clutching a toolbox on her lap.
There was none of the liveliness she usually displayed in the dining hall or classrooms; frankly, the way she simply let herself be rocked by the gently swaying carriage seemed downright strange.
The usual Rio would probably say something like, “Just traveling is so boring!” and start talking about magical tools or something—but she clearly wasn’t in that kind of mood.
She kept fiddling with the latch on her toolbox with her fingers.
“……”
Liene, sitting next to her, must have noticed her state as well.
She glanced briefly at Rio, opened her mouth several times—only to swallow her words each time.
Should she speak to her, or should she leave her be?
That hesitation was evident on her profile.
Only the creaking of the carriage echoed quietly.
“……Hey.”
After a while, Rio’s voice broke the heavy silence.
When I turned my gaze toward her, I met the gaze of her emerald eyes, which were raised slightly and staring at me listlessly.
After a brief pause, she exhaled softly—
“……Why don’t you stop me?”
She muttered quietly.
But before waiting for a reply, Rio looked away slightly.
“……Grandpa asked you to, didn’t he?”
Her voice was quiet.
There was almost no surprise or doubt in those words.
Rather, it sounded as if she were confirming something she had known all along.
“When I left the workshop, I saw Rai and the others—and I guess you talked to Grandpa… and he asked you to bring me back, right…?”
And then, Rio fixed her gaze on me once more.
In her emerald eyes, I could see a hint of confusion.
“Then why…”
Rio must have figured it out.
She surely understands the circumstances that led us to follow her, and Albert’s feelings as well. She is the girl that great man described as a “genius.” I think she can read that much without needing an explanation…
—That is precisely why she doesn’t understand.
Normally, she would have stopped us.
It would be natural for her to try to force us to turn back.
And yet, far from stopping her, here we are, riding in the same carriage, heading toward the labyrinth. …I don’t know why.
That confusion was reflected in her emerald eyes.
“I’m not heartless enough to just stand by and watch a friend head into a death trap.”
Shrugging as I said that, Rio’s eyes widened for just a moment.
Her expression seemed to ask, “For a reason like that?” but then, as if the air had gone out of her, she gave a weak smile.
“…Rai, you know—you seem cold and calculating, but you actually care about your friends quite a bit, don’t you?”
Holding onto her toolbox, Rio lifted her face slightly and murmured.
Her tone was teasing, but there was a hint of relief mixed in with her voice.
“Is that how I come across? ”
“Yeah. It’s just… like… rationalism, I guess. You look like the kind of person who only acts based on what’s in your best interest.”
“That’s quite the assessment.”
When she shrugged her shoulders, Rio chuckled softly.
“Sorry. I’ve really rethought my opinion of you, so will you cheer up?”
“…That depends on you, Rio.”
When she replied like that, she raised her eyebrows slightly.
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Though she grumbled, her tone was somewhat softer than before.
Rio, who had been smiling weakly, lowered her gaze as if deep in thought and clutched the toolbox on her lap tightly.
After a moment of silence.
“…Rai. Liene.”
I heard her call my name softly.
Rio bit her lip and looked down even further, then spoke quietly.
“You know… Grandpa never once praised my craftsmanship.”
After letting those words slip out, Rio looked straight at me and smiled again.
It was a smile that seemed to be reminiscing about the past, yet it also looked a little lonely.
“Grandpa was always kind. He’d buy me anything. He let me into the workshop and let me do whatever I wanted. …But he never once praised the things I made.”
Those words were tinged with a loneliness that had built up over a long time.
“So… I’ve always thought… that Grandpa was just spoiling me because I was his favorite grandchild, and that he didn’t have the slightest bit of expectation for me as a craftsman…”
After finishing her sentence, Rio looked down again.
She gazed down at the toolbox on her lap, her eyes brimming with tears. Facing her like that, I let out a deep sigh and shrugged my shoulders.
“That girl is a ‘genius.’ Lord Clauser said so, didn’t he?”
“……Huh?”
A dazed voice escaped Rio’s lips.
Still clutching the toolbox on her lap, her tear-filled emerald eyes looked up at me.
Apparently, she hadn’t been able to process what I’d just said right away.
“We talked a little before I left the workshop. About you.”
“…No way.”
“I have no reason to lie.”
At my immediate reply, Rio’s throat made a small sound.
She looked as though she wanted to believe me, but couldn’t quite bring herself to do so, and opened her mouth.
“But… but Grandpa has never praised me even once…? Even just now! He clearly said I have no talent…!”
“That’s true.”
I nodded simply.
“That’s why, when we heard the reason, we almost laughed too.”
“……Huh?”
Rio froze, a blank look on her face.
Next to her, Liene smiled, looking slightly flustered.
“Lord Clauser is quite a clumsy person, isn’t he?”
“He said it’s because if he praises you, you’ll get a big head.”
“…………Huh?”
“You get cocky even from the slightest compliment. He skills are genuine, but she lacks caution. So, apparently, he made a point of never praising her skills specifically.”
As soon as those words left my mouth, Rio’s expression froze completely.
The carriage swayed.
Amidst the sound of wooden wheels clattering along the road, Rio sat in silence, as if she’d been left behind.
“……What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
The voice that finally escaped her was terribly weak.
“So… what? Grandpa, did you really…”
“He values you more than anyone else.”
I stated it succinctly.
“Your understanding of magical artifact theory, your handling of magic, your creativity—he said you’re better than anyone he’s ever seen.”
“Then… why did he say something like that…! That I have no talent…!”
Rio’s lips trembled as he stared at me in a daze.
“As your grandfather, he just didn’t want you to put yourself in danger, did he?”
I continued, turning my gaze out the window.
“If your invention is completed, it can save many people. Even he knew that.”
I paused there, then turned my gaze back to Rio.
Our eyes met—her emerald-green eyes, so much like her grandfather’s, were brimming with large tears.
“…But it seems he just couldn’t accept that you were willing to risk your life to finish it.”
Rio’s shoulders shook slightly.
She must have an idea of what I meant.
“That’s why he tried to stop you and said things he didn’t really mean.”
“……Things I didn’t really mean……”
“Yeah.”
I kept staring straight at Rio.
“‘You don’t have that kind of talent’—he said that just to stop you. …he really regretted it.”
The next moment.
A tear welled up in Rio’s eyes and fell.
The droplet that ran down her cheek fell onto the metal of the toolbox, making a soft sound.
“……”
She tried to wipe them away in a panic, but they just kept streaming down one after another.
Rio bit her lip, her shoulders shaking as she kept her head down.
“So… I’ve been…”
“Totally mistaken.”
When I said that, Rio’s expression turned into something like a tearful smile.
“…What’s that supposed to mean? Just because I’m getting a little cocky, you won’t even give me a compliment?! You don’t have to be so mean!”
The fact that she said that with a tear-choked voice suggested she was starting to get back to her usual self a little.
Smiling wryly at that sight, I quietly opened my mouth.
“…Then, you should just take it all out on him when you get back.”
“……Huh?”
Rio turned her tear-stained eyes toward me.
“……You were angry, weren’t you? You were sad, weren’t you? Then just tell Lord Clauser everything.”
The wooden floor creaked in time with the carriage’s swaying.
Amidst that sound, I continued speaking matter-of-factly.
“Your anger, your loneliness, your desire for praise… Just tell him everything you’ve been holding inside all this time. And when you’re done—”
I paused briefly, then looked her straight in the eyes.
“This time, you need to really listen to what he has to say.”
Rio’s eyes wavered.
Another tear fell, plopping onto her cheek.
“… I said some really mean things to Grandpa.”
Her voice was hoarse.
With her eyes still swollen from crying, Rio clutched the toolbox on her lap tightly.
“I said I hated him…”
Perhaps saying it out loud made it feel even more real.
Rio furrowed her brow and looked down, looking pained.
“…But that wasn’t what I really felt.”
Her voice trembled slightly.
Yet, even so, she didn’t fall silent as if trying to escape; she continued speaking her own words.
“I… I’ll apologize.”
That single sentence was the clearest she’d spoken so far.
“I’ll say ‘I’m sorry’ properly. …I’m sorry for saying such mean things. I was really hurt, and I was really angry… but even so, I shouldn’t have spoken like that…”
Rio sniffled, his face still a mess, but she lifted her head as if trying to look ahead.
“And… I’ll tell him everything. How I felt. And how Grandpa felt…”
Her eyes were still red, and traces of tears remained.
But Rio’s expression as she spoke of the future was much brighter than it had been just moments ago.
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